red engine cover paint bubbling?!

[terminator02]

I did a search as I have smelled something burning WOT; not quite oil and def not coolant. No apparent leaks. Search on the forums revealed maybe exhaust smells which is possible as it appears I have a custom exhaust with muffler delete. However, when I opened the hood the other day, the red part of the engine cover was bubbling due to excessive heat. has this happened to anyone? What could be causing this? The car appears to be driving fine. Help..

 

[plumcrazy]

Overheating

 

[dave6666]

The red part of the engine cover... Do you mean the intake? Valve covers? What does your oil look like? Coolant look like?

 

[terminator02]

Where it says "Viper" I think are the valve covers? It is around the red paint where it says Viper on teh sides. If it is overheating how do I diagnose/fix this? Should I not be driving it?

Just changed oil... i will check the coolant. What "should" coolant look like? I know it should smell sweet...thats about all...

 

[dave6666]

Next step - find a Viper tech or mechanic...

 

[terminator02]

any good viper tech's in windsor area????

 

[01ACR/VIPER]

Holy **** ....you got that thing REALLY hot to cause that paint to bubble.I can touch my covers after a hard run without the fear of burn.

 

[-FROG-]

If you are noticing bubbles on the valve covers, it may be from heating over time. Maybe the bubbles didn't just appear there suddenly due to a single overhead episode... I had a few bubbles in my 94' RT/10 and they never got any worse. They were there before I got the car.

So, you may be smelling coolant or another "getting hot" or "leak" characteristic of some sort. The bubbles probably formed over time. Make sure you take a look under the car on the ground for drip spots. It may be your power steering fluid beginning to seep out. It's probably a pin hole water leak and a coolant aroma you are smelling. Just do a good visual inspection around all your fluids and pay attention to the coolant gage.

 

[dave6666]

Anybody that doesn't know what the valve cover is - the part that says Viper on it - should employ either an accountant to advise them how much their new engine will wreck their pocketbook, or a true mechanic.

Sorry to be that way, but I've seen people post that can't recognize or even describe the pool of liquid under the car either.

Dude... FIND A MECHANIC!

 

[terminator02]

Anybody that doesn't know what the valve cover is - the part that says Viper on it - should employ either an accountant to advise them how much their new engine will wreck their pocketbook, or a true mechanic.

Sorry to be that way, but I've seen people post that can't recognize or even describe the pool of liquid under the car either.

Dude... FIND A MECHANIC!

You cry when people don't use the search button. Now the requisite for posting is knowledge of cars to get advise? That seems a bit counter-intuitive. Being that I don't know much about cars, I SHOULD be on here getting as much info as possible so I don't get ***** by a mechanic. Plus I would like to LEARN as well. So I did my search and posted to the best of my ability. On a help thread maybe just "stay away" if you just want to preach?

 

[Simms]

Any chance your factory valve covers were recently powder coated? Some times they bubble afterwords.

 

[dave6666]

You cry when people don't use the search button. Now the requisite for posting is knowledge of cars to get advise? That seems a bit counter-intuitive. Being that I don't know much about cars, I SHOULD be on here getting as much info as possible so I don't get ***** by a mechanic. Plus I would like to LEARN as well. So I did my search and posted to the best of my ability. On a help thread maybe just "stay away" if you just want to preach?

Oh, now that hurts. Yes, posting this...



...followed by a bunch of links that I found by searching and HELPING people is the definition of a crybaby.



And what I'm still preaching to you is to

FIND A MECHANIC

because you don't seem to know squat about cars.

If you can't take that as advise, then, well hope it doesn't get expensive!

Anyone that can't even recognize the valve cover as being such is at a level well before troubleshooting burnt parts. You need cars 101. You are asking troubleshooting 103 questions.

Termidude02, you can continue to pull grab bag insults out of the air that deflect off me like class and charm off of Brittney Spears. But please, learn mechanical basics before asking why the paint on your "engine cover" is melting and bubbling or whatever.

 

[terminator02]

No actually I will continue to post and ask questions and learn as I go while doing what I do. Thankfully my wife's Dad is mechanically inclined but I am going to be servicing this at a good mechanic/viper tech. Either way, I am going to do my due dilligence to the best of MY ability prior to going anywhere. I always do no matter what I am purchasing/fixing. At least you know not to post in my threads anymore so it is a win/win! We just agree to disagree. cheers.

 

[dave6666]

Me not post in your threads? *** kind of BS is that? You might as well just have invited my to your family's holiday dinner!

I LIVE FOR THIS!

Anyway, more thoughts on your exhaust, as you did seem to be searching that. Must be a reason. On my car before I got rid of the clamped joint system and went to a fully welded system with no loose joints I would get a nasty smell at WOT, but only with the windows down. One way to test for leaks is to start the car cold in the morning, let it idle for a while and look for condensate drips at the joints. Also, your rear cabin vents could be bad letting in fumes.

You might get some more constructive comments on the engine covers if you posted some pics. Crappy cell phone pics discouraged. I have a complete other personality for those.

 

[mad0953]

+1 on the question about having the valve covers recently powder coated or painted.

 

[terminator02]

just waiting on hosting pics.....thanks for the help everyone...

 

[2snakes4us]

what is the temp gauge telling you?

 

[snakebitdave]

No actually I will continue to post and ask questions and learn as I go while doing what I do. Thankfully my wife's Dad is mechanically inclined but I am going to be servicing this at a good mechanic/viper tech. Either way, I am going to do my due dilligence to the best of MY ability prior to going anywhere. I always do no matter what I am purchasing/fixing. At least you know not to post in my threads anymore so it is a win/win! We just agree to disagree. cheers.

Keep asking the questions terminator. It's good that we are all blessed with differnet talents; some doctors, some lawyers, some plumbers, etc, etc. We all have something to contribute to the forum. Some just don't understand that basic concept.

 

[99 R/T 10]

It's common t have the valve covers bubble IF you have had them powder coated.

 

[Ricketts]

Speaking of the red wrinkle paint. Has anyone been able to get this original finish duplicated?

 

[JackDud]

Could it be that brake fluid somehow got on the paint?

 

[Russ M]

While Dave6666's method is crude, he is not giving you bad advice.

If you continue to drive your car with potential serious issues you are not doing your self any favors. If there is an over heating problem its something that needs to be checked out and fixed before you even start the car. Doing something other than that will most likely result in you needing to rebuild your motor.

I am assuming you just bought the car, and in doing so bought someone elses problem probably for cheap, right?

 

[dave6666]

While Dave6666's method is crude...

Sugar coating is for date night.

But, um, I'm not trying to score here.

So yes, when it appears that someone has flunked open the hood and name the basic parts 101, while they declare paint bubbling on the engine and funny smells, I waste no time advising a professional eye. And if this offends anyone, I still drink to my own glee in the end.

Back on subject, and these questions do not take a master mechanic to answer.

-> Was this smell all of a sudden? Or is this the first time you've done WOT? I know that sounds smartass, but some people granny these things until one day they get a wild hair.

-> Was the smell like burning paint kinda smell, or like a noxious or rotten egg kind of smell? Paints smell like plastic when they burn (sort of) and my exhaust smell that I used to have would make your eyes water.

-> Is there any discoloration at the bubbled paint areas? And where on whatever parts are these spots? Front, back, top, side...

-> Do you have aftermarket headers?

-> Do you have heat shields on whatever headers you have?

-> What cats do you have?

 

[terminator02]

Hey i sent out a PM to a few if they can email me so i can get my pics that I took hosted. To Dave's questions. This smell is not all of the sudden, EVERY TIME I go WOT I get the smell. I actually thought it smelled like burnt rubber but "not quite." Not noxious or rotten at all. When you said paint smells like burnt plastic...that seems somewhat accurate.

There is NO discoloration on the valve covers; just 5 bubbles on the left side of the engine (right side is bubble free). The biggest spot is closest to the back of the engine with the bubbles getting smaller closer to the radiator end.

I do not have aftermarket headers and the heatshields are on the factory headers.

I checked coolant and everything is fine (greenish/blue and full). Oil is fine. I am not sure what kind of exhaust I have. The tips are 3.5/4 inch crome tips and it appears to be straight pipes no mufflers under the car (I took pictures and will post if someone can host). It looks like there is condensation that drips from the exhaust after it idles or is driven. (maybe a 5 inch cirlce on each side). I am not versed on full exhaust and those terms but that is my best guess of what I have. The tips do have writing on the top but it cant be read and it is written in cursive. The car is extremely loud WOT (louder than my old 03 cobra with a bassani X and magnaflow catback) which makes me believe that there is a muffler delete (yes its dumb that I don't know what that would look like but feel free to post pics so I would know). peace.

 

[Shandon]

If I had to guess you have a header leak. Either the header gasket has broken down or the headers themselves have something going on. Are the bubbles near the lower part of the red valve covers? It would also hold that at WOT you would get a smell since your exhaust has no cats to get much back pressure it would make sence to only get a smell when at WOT. Anyway worth looking at. May even be as simple as re-torque the header bolts down if the gasket is ok? Keep us posted. And at WOT you are pushing a sh$%t load of air out those pipes and very very hot!

 

[plumcrazy]

Speaking of the red wrinkle paint. Has anyone been able to get this original finish duplicated?

no, and its not likely to ever happen, it was a color and type of powder made specifically for dodge and nobody knows the formula im told from a few good sources. might be a good question for the grailkeeper.

 

[terminator02]

If I had to guess you have a header leak. Either the header gasket has broken down or the headers themselves have something going on. Are the bubbles near the lower part of the red valve covers? It would also hold that at WOT you would get a smell since your exhaust has no cats to get much back pressure it would make sence to only get a smell when at WOT. Anyway worth looking at. May even be as simple as re-torque the header bolts down if the gasket is ok? Keep us posted. And at WOT you are pushing a sh$%t load of air out those pipes and very very hot!

Hmmmm that makes sense. The bubbles are at the exact same level of the valve cover that says "Viper..." I am going to look into the head gaskets. The reason i am asking all these questions before going in is that I dont just want to rely on a mechanic..I want this to be a hobby so I figure I can learn a lot here. Some people grew up around cars and things like blown gaskets are just a very simple thing to check. Not for me. My wife's sister's boyfriend is amazing with cars. At the Dreamcruise we walked up to the dodge hemi motor and he broke the parts down pretty easily for me. So the only reason I knew to answer dave's questions regarding stock headers and heat shields is because I just learned what they look like...but hey that is a start!

 

[snakebitdave]

"The reason i am asking all these questions before going in is that I dont just want to rely on a mechanic.."

Good for you. MY "Viper Mechanic", didn't know several important issues when it came time to pull the engine on my '93 still under warranty. Fortunately I knew enough to question him. Point is, not all mechanics are "mechanics."

 

[2000_Black_RT10]

Why does your location say Detroit when you ask for a tech in Windsor? btw.. I lived in Windsor for 37 years.. For those that don't know.. Windsor is across the river from Detroit, the border cities of Canada and the US.

 

[terminator02]

didn't update it yet...married a canadian